Friday, November 11, 2011

Product Review and a Giveaway- Easy Canvas Prints

I have always loved the look of photos on canvas. It creates an effect that is different from traditional framing, more akin to oil paintings from days gone by. I have wanted to get one for a while now, I was just waiting for an occasion that would warrant the canvas treatment and our wedding certainly fit the bill.

I opted for the "Image Wrap" border option.
I shopped around a little bit online and even looked at a couple DIY canvas options. Then I stumbled upon Easy Canvas Prints. The website lives up to it's name, and the prices are great too. The hardest part was choosing which one of my wedding portraits to upload. The website is easy to use; simpy upload a picture, select your size and border options, center the picture, and click order to transform your photos to canvas. My canvas arrived shortly thereafter, and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the product. It is a nice thick canvas, wrapped around a sturdy wooden frame. It feels like a piece of art.

I am very fortunate in that Brendan from Easy Canvas Prints has given me a handful of $10 gift cards to give away to my blog readers. If you would like one, simply leave a comment to this post, and I will contact you for mailing information. The giveaway ends November 18th. Easy Canvas Prints is also on Facebook, and they are offering 50% off a canvas and free shipping just for liking them.

Disclosure: Easy Canvas Prints provided me with an 8"x10" canvas for free for the purpose of review

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Wedding Recaps- Portraits

Our Wedding Portrait
I decided to conclude the wedding recaps with a few of our wedding portraits. Our photographers used the photojournalist style, so the overwhelming majority of our pictures are candids. They did pose us for a couple of shots, but even then, some of the best pictures were taken when we did not realize that we were on camera. I asked the photographers to take full advantage of the architecture of the fort.  They did not disappoint.


Our families, believe it or not, this is mostly parents, with one uncle, a sister, a brother, and two nephews
Our wedding party, we almost got all three boys to look at the camera 
Three generations, my grandmother, me, and my mom

The groom, and his groomsmen (and groomswoman!)
A candid shot of my bridesmaids, I love this picture
Our fort
Kiss me!

All pictures copyright of Classic Photographers, used with permission.



Saturday, November 5, 2011

Wedding Recaps- All the Pretty Details

My ring bearer pillow, ribbon wands, and a pageboy's bell
During our final consultation with the photographer, I mentioned that I had made a lot of the decorations and accessories, and that I would like to have pictures of all the little details. Our photographers certainly pulled through. These are some of my favorite pictures, some are of DIY projects, others showcase the amazing work of our vendors. Enjoy.

Our aisle runner

The wedding arch, it was breezy to the guys used rocks to hold down the aisle runner

Flower cones, made by me and arranged by my mom, on shepherd's hooks from the dollar store

Our alter set up, with our ring bearer pillow, unity candle, handfasting ribbon, and mead
My pearls, a gift from my husband, and my something new
Our reception
One of our centerpieces, with artificial starfish, and my handmade table numbers

Our escort card table

Candle centerpieces

The guestbook table and card basket

Our photo guestbook in action, a huge hit

The detail of our cake. Our cake baker did an amazing job, the cake was as delicious as it was beautiful.

Our engraved serving set, which now graces our curio cabinet


Candle favors, photo share cards, and bubbles!

My bouquet, exactly what I wanted, and the hand painted Mrs. shell

The peridot brooch I borrowed from my mom, my bouquet was also wrapped with a handkerchief that was used by my mom and grandmother at their weddings. My something borrowed and something old. My something blue was a sapphire ring that Tom gave me.

Our rings
All pictures copyright of Classic Photographers, used with permission

Friday, November 4, 2011

Wedding Recaps- The Reception

After the ceremony, we spent some time at the fort taking pictures before piling into the limo and heading to the reception venue. On the way, we asked the limo driver if he would be willing to stop at a nearby post office so that we could get the marriage certificate in the mail. He did just that, and our photographer caught it. I can only imagine what the locals thought to see a limo drive through a post office.

The new Mr and Mrs!
Once we arrived to the reception venue, the reception coordinator wisked us away to a private waiting area for appetizers and champagne, while they poured everyone's champagne for the champagne toast. The DJ lined us up, and we were announced. Once everyone was seated, we went right into the speeches. Our best man and our maid of honor each gave speeches and joked with us all week that they were going to tell embarrassing stories. Truth be told, they both gave speeches that were so touching and heartfelt that I am pretty sure there was not a dry eye in the house.



The Best Man's speech

The Maid of Honor's Speech
Following the speeches, we went right into dinner. The DJ played Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, the food was delicious. We decided to have a buffet of comfort foods, and our caterer created exactly what we wanted: meatball, honey mustard chicken, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes. Part way through dinner, our photographer brought out glow stick kits. The kids, as well as the adults, had a blast creating glow stick glasses, earrings, and necklaces.

After dinner, we had our cake cutting. This is where our baker surprised us. Our original plan was to have a wedding cake and a groom's cake, but the groom's cake was going to essentially be a single-tiered chocolate version of the wedding cake. I wanted to surprise Tom with a more custom groom's cake, but time ran out before I could really plan it. The baker came through, and designed Tom a guitar cake. We were both pleasantly surprised.

Our Wedding Cake
Our Groom's Cake
Tom and I had been discussing the cake cutting for about a year before the wedding. We both agreed that we wanted our wedding to be an adult affair, and that our cake cutting would follow suit. I went by what we discussed, and nicely fed Tom a piece of wedding cake, minus a little frosting on his nose, which I promptly kissed off.

Tom on the other hand...

I should have known better. Especially after he flashed his "I'm innocent" eyes at me. Before I could react, I was covered in sticky frosting. At first I was less than pleased, but then I realized that it was the man I married. Tom has a playful side, and our guests loved it.


Never trust a man with a handful of cake
So not amused
We took a few minutes to get cleaned up, and then started the dancing portion of the evening. Tom and I had our first dance to "Rose of My Heart" by Johnny Cash. The words fit us perfectly. Tom and I had been practicing waltzing since we became engaged, it was nice to finally have the opportunity to dance with him. Tom also took full advantage of the flow-y aspect of my dress and spun me a few times. Our wedding party and guests blew bubbles during our first dance to add to the moment.

Following our first dance, I danced with my father to "I Loved Her First" by Heartland. Tom danced with his mom to "Purple Rain" by Prince. Then we opened up the dance floor and everyone joined in on the fun.

Me and my dad

Tom with his mom
All that was left to do was the bouquet toss and the garter toss, which we dispersed throughout the dancing. The florist provided a toss bouquet for me to throw. Now, I notoriously have bad aim when throwing, and in my defense, the DJ made me toss the bouquet with my back turned to everyone. 

I say this in my defense, because I managed to toss the bouquet right over all of the ladies...
And into the groom's hands. Seriously, Tom cannot catch. He later told me that he was having a conversation with the best man and the bouquet landed in his hands. If that is not a sign of sheer talent and brilliance, I don't know what is.

Last but not least, Tom took off my garter. True to form, he opted to do it with his teeth. Again, our guests enjoyed the show. Fortunately, I did not catch the garter, although I'm sure people were questioning it. Ultimately, my bridesmaid caught the bouquet, she is engaged to be married next June. Our best man caught the garter. We need to find him a special someone.

After the bouquet and garter toss, we enjoyed the last couple hours of our reception by dancing the night away. Our last dance was to "Good Life" and my nephews requested it so they could dance with their new aunt Jenny. It was a perfect, beautiful day that was worth every minute of planning, and every dime of money.

All pictures copyright of Classic Photographers, and used with permission.